1. Brain Rule #12 Exploration By Jennifer Forsberg

2. Modeled by our Babies  Exploration is modeled everyday by the way our babies interact with the world around them.  First, they observe the world around them  Second, create a hypothesis about the world and test it through:  Experimenting  Tasting (yes, even putting plants in their mouths)  Smelling  Putting objects in different places (ears, your hand, etc)  Feeling  Finally, create a conclusion about what that act can get them, what an object can do or whatever they were testing.

3. Modeled by our babies cont.  This exploration helps babies start to understand the world around them.  Sometimes it can be funny (click on the link below)  http://youtu.be/eg9eW7mh5bc http://youtu.be/eg9eW7mh5bc  Sometimes babies can by influenced by the adults around them when they are exploring. (clink on the link below, don’t need to watch the full video)  http://youtu.be/tbbiMJ6WYL0 http://youtu.be/tbbiMJ6WYL0

4.  Part of exploration for babies is observing and learning from the adults around them.  In both Brain Matters and The Brain and Learning we have seen many times where these mirror neurons takes place in our lives. For example, when we sneeze, others could possibly sneeze. Mirror Neurons  John Medina tried mirroring with his own son in the first 30 minutes of his life. He stuck out his tongue at his son, who stuck it out right back. They had created their own language within the first 30 minutes of life.

5. Affecting our lives  Exploration has helped us become the advanced humans we are and will continue to become.  For example, when we use to live in nature we would have to decipher between something that is safe vs. something that is dangerous.  We need to be continue this idea of exploration into our adulthood.  Learning new tasks and topics  Thinking and exploring the world around you.  “Some parts of our adult brains stay as malleable as a baby’s, so we can create neurons and learn new things throughout our lives.” on page 280 in Brain Rules

6. Affecting Education  Helping students realize the power of learning new things through exploration as they once did as a child.  Idea for parents: when a child has an interest in a topic bring in materials, like books, posters, and videos or even traveling to explore the child’s topic.  John Medina’s mother did this idea for him as a child. As each new interest arrived she would change the entire house to allow exploration in the new topic.  We can do this in our own classrooms in how we use manipulative items, posters, introduction of new topics, and our own interest in the topics.

7. Affecting Education Cont.  Discovering material  Students need to be able to explore within their learning of new topics.  Example: Cooking  Create cookies following the recipe  Create cookies not following the recipe  Questioning  How does changing the fraction of material affect taste, texture, size, appearance, etc.?  With more research on brain development could lead to a new class environment.

8. Has it worked?  YES!! Google has created the work space for employees off of exploration. Look toward the right back in the picture.  “We think Google is a great place to work, but don’t just take our word for it. Fortune awarded Google the number one spot in its 2013 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." This marks our fourth time at the top and the honor reflects our ongoing efforts to create a unique workplace and culture.” (see resource page)  Yes!! John Medina talks about Medical school having both exploration and classroom education. Students are able to learn topics in the classroom and see first hand some of those topics with patients.

9. Resources  Medina, J. (2008) Brain Rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.  Fisher, K. & Immodino-Yang, M. H. (2008) The Brain and Learning. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  Wolfe, P. (2010). Brain Matters 2 nd Edition: Translating research into classroom practices. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.  Google Jobs. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/about/jobs/lifeatgoogle/best- company-to-work-for-fortune-2013.html http://www.google.com/about/jobs/lifeatgoogle/best- company-to-work-for-fortune-2013.html  One to check – out: Early Childhood Australia; http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/emotional_founda tions_for_learning/curiosity-imagination- persistence/exploring_and_discovering.html